My New Dream
by Emily Snow21
Summary: Flynn Rider thought his dream was to live on an island with huge piles of money. He's realised it was all wrong... but is it too late? He sets off on a journey to find Rapunzel once again. Multi-Chapter. HIATUS/ENDED
1. Prologue: His Mistake

**Hi, Emily Snow here! I was thinking about what would've happened if Flynn had made off with the satchel... in other words, had stuck with the deal. How would things turn out? **

**Read on for my impression of it.**

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><p>Flynn Rider's dream was to own and island and have huge piles of money.<p>

He saw this as quite a feasible aim, especially when he successfully stole the lost Princess' crown. Little did he know that the tower he decided to hide in was the home of the Lost Princess, however she didn't know herself.

She had a dream too.

A dream to see the floating lights rise up in the sky. She, Rapunzel, convinced Flynn to take her there and in return will give him his satchel where he was hiding the crown. He reluctantly agreed and together went on a magnificent journey which neither of them had expected to embark on. And Rapunzel fell in love with Eugene Fitzherbert _not _Flynn Rider. Unfortunately, the feeling wasn't mutual.

"I have something for you too." Rapunzel gave Flynn Rider his satchel. "I should've given it to you earlier but-"

"My satchel!" Flynn cried, taking it out of Rapunzel's hands. She blinked, a little surprised by his reaction, but then with the sinking of the heart realised that was what she expected. It was part of the deal: he took her to the floating lights and she gave him back his satchel. No-one had broken the deal; there were no lies or deceit.

But for some reason, Rapunzel felt incredibly upset when Flynn rowed the boat to shore as fast as he could and got off the boat. Her eyes welled up with tears as she looked up at him and even opened her mouth to say 'don't go' but nothing came out. She was overwhelmed with shock and hurt. She had never felt anything like it before, it was a new horrible feeling.

"Come on Blondie, let's get you home!" Flynn said before whisking Rapunzel off into the forest. He hadn't even bothered to look at her face to see how _devastated_ she looked. Her stomach felt hollow and her heart broken in two. She looked at Pascal who was snuggling comfortingly into her neck as if to say sorry.

She barely registered the fact they were running through the dark trees and couldn't see a thing. She didn't _want _to go home. She wanted to go with Eugene. Who cares what her mother said about it? She hated her for feeding her lies about the world when it was a very nice place. But two things hit Rapunzel.

_Mother was right. _Flynn was leaving her just like that.

And Flynn wasn't very nice at all. It was Eugene Fitzherbert she had fallen in love with, but he seemed to be gone.

Far too quickly did they reach the thick vines covering the entrance to the land on the other side.

"Here you go. I'm sure you walk a little further by yourself?" Flynn said. He seemed adamant to leave her as soon as possible, no time to waste. He turned around to leave.

"Eugene, wait!" Rapunzel cried out. He turned his head to look at her. For a moment Rapunzel saw Eugene Fitzherbert with his caring eyes and kind face. But then it disappeared as it were never there.

"Eugene's not here." Flynn grunted before walking off, leaving her entirely.

* * *

><p>That night, Flynn began to head to the nearby Kingdom, Centauri, where the most notorious and rich dealers of the land lived. He didn't even look back at Rapunzel once as he was far too determined to sell this crown off and get all the money he needed for his precious island.<p>

A smile came to his face when he dreamt it. He was now one step closer to his dream. But something kept niggling him at the back of his mind, but he couldn't quite put what it was. He chose to ignore the petty sign and continued to walk, pleased with himself.

Once he reached Centauri he realised he didn't have to be as cautious around their Guards as he wasn't a known has a thief there. He was still however quick and fast as he headed to the dealers' hideout. He rushed in there, placed the crown on the table and demanded a huge sum of money. Though, the burly dealers weren't too happy with the price.

"What the hell is this?" the bigger one growled, fingering the dainty crown.

"The Lost Princess' crown," Flynn said simply. "Stole it right from the palace, it was a piece of cake."

"I see." The slightly shorter dealer said. His voice was considerably higher. "What's your name?"

"Flynn Rider. Yours?"

"Mark. And he's Zach," Mark said, pointing to his bigger companion.

"What makes you think this crown is worth that amount of money?" Zach demanded.

"Well, it's literally the last link to the Lost Princess they have. If it's gone the whole of Corona will be crying their eyes out and people would obviously want it back. But of course, if _you_ have it, you could sell it back to them for an even higher price than I stated. So you're gonna be making a huge profit."

That was going to be highly unlikely and Flynn knew that. However, Mark and Zach were tempted.

"There are loads of diamonds on that thing. Rubies, emeralds, sapphires. Maybe you could take them off and put them on necklaces and rings to make huge money? People would beg for a bit of the Princess' crown... we could just say it was Sednari's Princess' crown. She's way popular than the Lost Princess, who gives a shit about her? She's probably dead now anyway." Even though Mark was talking in a low voice, Flynn could hear it all. Personally, he couldn't care less how they used the crown, as long as he got the money he desired, if not, more.

After much discussion they came to a decision.

"Flynn Rider!" Zach boomed. "We accept your deal."

"Ah! Thanks guys," Flynn grinned. He quickly snatched the crown off the desk and raised an eyebrow. "Where's the money then?"

Mark plonked a huge sack of money on the table. Flynn heard the clings and clangs of the golden coins. The sound was music to his ears.

"How much is it?" Flynn asked cautiously.

"One million golden coins." Said Zach. "Now _take it_ before we change our minds, pretty boy."

"Thanks," Flynn snatched the sack of money and tossed them the crown. It was heavier than he expected but nevertheless, left Mark and Zach with the crown. He never felt more pleased with himself in his life.

And then he suddenly felt guilt. He had no idea why and tried to shrug it off and think of his island.

Yep, he felt better.

* * *

><p>Ecstasy and Euphoria claimed Flynn Rider as he sailed, alone, towards his newly bought island. Coming at about 500,000 golden coins, he still had a lot to spare and certainly enough to pile up and roll about in. He laughed and cried all the way, overwhelmed by the fact he had finally achieved his dream. He had bought fine food and new clothes with him when he sailed which only took up a very small percentage of his money.<p>

He fell onto the soft sand of _his_ island and lied down, feeling the hot sun tan his face. And then he remembered.

He was alone. Why only tan his face? He stripped down until he was completely naked and baked in the hot sun. He felt so free, so relaxed, so calm.

When he felt hungry, he set up a fire and cooked some expensive meat he only ever had once. It was delicious. When it began to get colder, he changed into some comfortable clothes used for sleeping. He set up a hammock in between some trees and threw money all over the place. The feeling of the cold metal against his warm hands and then being set free over the grass and then being able to do it over and over again... positively orgasmic.

He went to lie down on his hammock and began to dream.

He dreamt of Rapunzel.

"Rapunzel..." he whispered in his sleep. He had almost forgotten about her amidst all the excitement of fulfilling his dream.

He dreamt of her every night. Every single night. It began to bother him. _Why_ was he dreaming of some girl he had known for two days? She should mean nothing to him. But somehow, he couldn't stop thinking about her. While he tanned naked on the shore, while he cooked meals while he lay awake in the middle of the night. He even had a thought of her being here with him.

"Why would I want her with me?" he scoffed to himself. But he knew why. He couldn't lie to himself.

He loved her.

He was beginning to grown bored of the same continuous routine day after day. And after checking his reflection in the water, he realised he was already tanned. He looked around the island. Coins were spread everywhere carelessly. No one was around. He began to feel lonesome. Was this really his dream? Had he really wanted this? Or was this planted in his mind by the handsome rogue, Flynnigan Rider?

He was Eugene Fitzherbert. He didn't want this. What a selfish dream Flynn once had.

He wanted Rapunzel.

"I need to find her," he said to himself even though no one could hear. He got onto his boat and rowed as fast as he could to Centauri. He looked back on the money scattered across the grass and sand, glinting in the sunlight. He regretted nothing by leaving them as it would just remind him of the dark deed he once did. The island didn't really seem like his home. More like a holiday home he was never to visit again.

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><p>He rushed to Corona as fast as he could, barging past people roughly and ignoring their annoyed yells.<p>

Once he did reach the Kingdom, he knew he had to slow down. Flynn Rider's face was still on the wanted posters and unfortunately had an uncanny resemblance to Eugene Fitzherbert. He didn't know how long it had been since he had last been in Corona. A week? A month? A _year? _He had lost track of time and didn't dare ask anyone what day it was in case they reported him to the palace guards.

He trailed through the forest, searching for those familiar vines. He had to find Rapunzel and apologise for Flynn's behaviour. He had to tell her that he loved her. Hopefully she still loved him back but he highly doubted it, after his treatment of her at their last encounter.

His heart surged with hope when he found the vines. He was incredibly tired having had hardly any sleep those past few nights. He didn't even care. He slipped in through the vines and found entry to the hidden land. The tower was still there.

"Rapunzel! Rapunzel!" he cried out. No reply. He climbed up himself as fast as he could; ignoring the scratches and burns he got from the untamed rocks. He opened the door.

"_Rapunzel!"_ he shouted.

Nothing.

"Where...is she?" he said. "Pascal? You in here?" He searched the entire place but it was dark as the window above was closed. His hand explored every nook and cranny, in an effort to feel something remotely like a human hand. But no avail. Instead he felt a thin layer of dust on the surfaces and objects he touched. A sudden wave of realisation hit him and his heart sank. His fingers found a piece of paper.

He opened the door so light could enter and then, the words stood out to him loud and clear.

_Dear Eugene,_

_If you are reading this now, I must say, thank you for coming back to the tower. Perhaps you came here to steal what has been left here, I will never know. Or perhaps you came here to find me? I prefer the latter. _

_Gothel has taken me someplace else by the time you are reading this. I have realised she is not my mother. I am the lost Princess. _

_Please don't freak out!_

_I don't know where she's taking me and I fear I will never see you or anyone ever again. But I love you, Eugene Fitzherbert. I would like you to know that. I know the feeling isn't mutual but I will feel better if you know. _

_Goodbye forever,_

_Rapunzel_

Eugene stared at the piece of paper in shock. The same words repeated in his head: Rapunzel was gone, Rapunzel was gone, Rapunzel was gone. She was the lost Princess. He had sold _her _crown for his own selfish reasons. He was blinded by wealth to see what he really needed. And he had realised this too late.

What kind of monster was he?

Eugene sank to the floor in despair and held his face in his hands. He went over and over about what he had done, horrified by his actions. Wasn't it so obvious what Rapunzel was feeling that night? Her face had shown it all. Her body language stood out even in the darkness. Why was he such a bastard? She loved him but he ignored it ruthlessly and kept his eyes on the selfish prize.

Well. She _had_ loved him.

Who knew what had happened to her now? She could have died in the hands of Gothel. Wet tears leaked out of the corner of his eyes, a sensation he had not familiarised with for a long while. Never before had he felt such emotion. Expect when his parents had died. Eugene couldn't believe this, couldn't believe how he couldn't recognise the love he had for Rapunzel when he first felt it. It had been masked by that stupid satchel and that stupid dream.

"I will find her." Eugene whispered determinedly. "Whatever it takes. I _will_ find her."

She was his new dream.

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><p><strong>Oh God, this is so bad. So some constructive criticism will be lovely. <strong>


	2. Chapter 1

**So, I'm sure you can guess that this is chapter 1. **

**Oh, I have a little story of mine: A few days ago I was forced to go to the supermarket and they were playing **_**Tangled**_** on about 30 huge television screens the whole time! I literally stood there looking like an idiot and watching the movie I'd already seen 5 times. **

**And then I went back to watch it and found out I missed their kiss. Oh well. **

**On with the story!**

Chapter 1

Eugene went over the words on the note, over and over again. Rapunzel had definitely written this, it was so clear. It couldn't have been anyone else. The curls and embellishments of the individual letters usually described a person's personality, he had been told, and this was definitely the case. He felt the paper and thought of the fact Rapunzel had touched it and poured meaning into the words. He tried to avoid letting his salty tears taint it as he wanted to preserve it.

He thought over the past week. It had only been a week. But it seemed like an eternity and in fact, it should've been an eternity as that's how long Flynn Rider took to understand his mistakes. Thankfully, Eugene had come to his senses and kicked out that persona out of him before it did something really stupid.

Eugene tried desperately to think how he could ever have found living by himself on a lone island _fun_. What on earth had he been thinking these past eleven years? You couldn't do anything productive on there and surely he should've considered the chance of admiring his huge piles of money would begin to bore him? He had been so instinctive.

Finally, Eugene got up from the floor. He decided to take look at Rapunzel's beautiful murals, quite fascinated how she had managed to paint such exquisite drawings at such a height. Perhaps her hair had more use than he had previously assumed. He wondered how Rapunzel must've felt when she was forced out of the tower. She had been living here for most of her life and knew every nook and cranny of the place and spent much time painting on the walls.

Rapunzel had been forced out of the tower to live with someone who wasn't even her mother.

What kind of name was Gothel anyway?

However, a question struck Eugene; how could she be so sure she was the Princess? Fine, they both had blonde hair... but wasn't that it? Then again, he didn't really spend time observing the mural at the Town Square so he couldn't compare Rapunzel's and the baby's complexions.

_Maybe I should leave something for her, in case she ever comes back. _Eugene thought. Then she'll know he had come back to the tower. He looked through his satchel for anything that would symbolise his arrival.

He found a wanted poster of his face on (the nose was still absurdly incorrect) and placed it on the table. Hopefully she'd get the hint if she ever came back. He put her note into his satchel for safekeeping before finally descending from the tower and onto the ground.

"I'm gonna find her... I'm gonna find her..." Eugene repeated to himself. But simply repeating the same sentence over and over again wasn't going to do him any good. Where on earth should he start? What direction would they have taken? He had no idea and Rapunzel also had been clueless when she had written him the note.

The note!

Perhaps by figuring out how old it was, he could have some idea if she was near or far away.

He highly doubted Gothel had a horse and cart to take Rapunzel in so he assuming and hoping they were walking to wherever they were going.

He sniffed the parchment. It smelt... well, like parchment. The attempt to date the paper was fruitless.

Not daring to be put down with a minor setback, Eugene Fitzherbert set off on his journey to find his dream.

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><p><em>Several days ago...<em>

"Let me _go! Let me go!"_ Rapunzel cried tugging at the chains Gothel had secured her with. But alas, they were far too tight for even Rapunzel's relatively tiny hands to squeeze through. Gothel had no intention of setting her free ever again into the outside world.

"No! You have disobeyed my orders for the first and definitely the last time," Gothel roared. "Look what happened! You fell in love with the most wanted thief in Corona and he's just left you. He had no feelings for you; he fooled and tricked you. You're too naive to be in the outside world Rapunzel!"

"I'm not! I c-can control ruffians!" Rapunzel said desperately. Gothel simply laughed.

"Ruffians? You mean those pathetic, uneducated men?" Gothel sneered. "My dear, I could get them to follow my orders with a click of my fingers."

Rapunzel didn't believe a single word. She continued to struggle under the woman's grasp. However, this time, Gothel pulled with all her might and Rapunzel felt her hands being thrown up into the air and her wrists breaking. Tears immediately poured out of her eyes, but not because of her broken bones, but because of the pain in her heart.

How could Flynn simply leave her like that? She thought she had brought out the Eugene in him completely. A personality of his which she loved much more than his Flynn side. They had almost kissed and she had seen all the love in Eugene's eyes while they watched the lanterns in the middle of the lake. No one could ever fake that, it was so obvious.

But then again, what did she know? Being cooped up in a terribly tall tower for most of her life hindered her knowledge of the people's tendencies and abilities to lie and love.

Eugene had not loved her, Rapunzel concluded.

She stopped resisting Gothel all of a sudden and buried her face into her knees. There was a short moment of silence where Rapunzel thought of Eugene coming to save her from her capturer and then telling her he loved her and then-

"Rapunzel, get down that ladder now! We're leaving before you decide to be a ruthless, disobedient child again." Gothel barked.

_I am not a child!_ Rapunzel thought angrily.

"I will..." Rapunzel said. "But I want to do something first."

"No." Gothel said.

"Yes."

"Rapunzel!"

"Just one thing. Please. Release these chains... I promise I will not run away." Gothel narrowed her eyes so they were reduced to slits.

"How can I trust you?" Gothel hissed.

"I never break my promises." Rapunzel said simply. She looked at Gothel expectantly who returned the look with a scrutinising glare. Rapunzel hadn't necessarily promised Gothel that she would never leave her tower.

"Fine." Gothel said. "You have a minute." Gothel freed her of the chains. As fast as she could, Rapunzel raced over to her paint box. She dug around and found a quill and an ink pot. She found some parchment and scribbled her note to Eugene without hesitation.

"Hurry up Rapunzel; we need to leave now before anyone comes and takes you away!"

_Is she talking about Eugene?_ Rapunzel thought to herself as she left the piece of parchment on the table. Pascal rushed over to Rapunzel and Rapunzel hid him in her hair before Gothel saw.

Without warning, Rapunzel was ordered to climb down the ladder. She did, with a heavy heart as she left what had been her home _and_ prison for most of her life. She imagined what her life would be like now if she had not dared to leave her tower with Flynn:

She couldn't bare thinking about it. Even though she was now to be imprisoned even more securely, she had experienced freedom and learnt the outside world had contradicted Gothel's lies.

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><p><em>Several days later...<em>

"Hello, Thugs and Ruffians!"

Said people turned to look who had appeared at the door of the Snuggly Duckling. Hook Hand looked up over his piano, Big Nose, Bruiser, Killer, Gunther, Ulf, Vladimir, Attila and all the other common visitors to the less-than-quaint place turned their heads to look at the newcomer.

It was none other than Flynn Rider.

"Have you seen Rapunzel?" Silence ensued after that.

Their surprised expressions slowly transformed into deathly glares which bore into Flynn's eyes, making him tremble ever so slightly.

"You... lost... Rapunzel?" Hook Hand boomed, standing up from his rickety piano seat. Yes, believe it or not, the thugs and ruffians had developed quite the liking to the kind girl.

"N-no!" Eugene said (though according to the Viking men, he was Flynn Rider), "Not exactly..." There was suddenly an immediate rush of bodies as two grotesquely large hands squeezed Eugene's sides and hauled him up and then down again on a wobbly chair. Most of the thugs in the pub circled around the small table, brandishing their swords viciously and baring their teeth. Only the guy being the bar, who looked strangely normal, stayed where he was, having not bonded with Rapunzel.

"Now, whaat *hic* did you dooo with her?" hiccupped Shorty the Cupid, standing on the table and pointing his stubby finger directly at Eugene's nose.

"Did you take away her virginity?" Killer asked candidly.

"No!" Eugene said immediately. He couldn't have done that to Rapunzel. She probably didn't even know what a virgin was.

Well. Maybe she did.

"Did you hurt her?"

"No!" Eugene paused. He hadn't hurt her psychically, but perhaps mentally. "Well I-"

A knife was brought to his throat. With one swift movement, he could be dead.

"Now, now come on! Is violence really necessary?" Eugene reasoned sheepishly, eyeing the point of the blade. It was digging into his flesh but not enough to penetrate it.

"Tell us what you did to her," Bruiser growled.

"You broke her heart didn't you?" Big Nose gasped. Ah yes, wouldn't the secret expert in love realise Eugene's and Rapunzel's predicament? Eugene nodded his head with shame. The thugs puffed out their chests so they could have a good yell at the thief but Eugene quickly began to explain what had happened. He emphasised his idiocy when his greediness got the better of him and ran off with the satchel without stopping to check his feelings for the girl. He even told them the story of him selling the crown and living on an island and so on and so forth.

During his explanation, Eugene hardly noticed the knife being drawn back.

The thugs relaxed their hold on the fatal weapons when they heard the regret in Eugene's voice.

"... she is my new dream." He finished with a sad undertone. A few 'awwww's sounded around the burly crowd in their response to Eugene's last line.

"So you're saying Rapunzel's not in her tower anymore?"

"No. Her 'mother' who really isn't her mother has taken her away somewhere else. She's actually the lost princess."

"Stab me with Hook Hand's hook and Shorty's arrow!" Gunther cried. Similar exclamations rang out which amused Eugene ever so slightly.

"I'm looking for her; and I'm not going to stop until I find her," Eugene said.

"That's right!" Big Nose said, banging his fist on the table. It jilted slightly.

"So have you seen her?" Eugene asked hopefully.

"No,"

Drat.

"Helpful," Eugene muttered under his breath. "Erm... well, do you know any secluded or less-known places Gothel would've taken her? She doesn't want anyone to find Rapunzel you see. Magic hair; the selfish woman wants it all for herself."

"Well, we know a dark village nearby." Bruiser said. "It's called Yegrac. Terrible place. Even we're too scared to go there."

"It gives me the creeeeps!" Shorty slurred.

"Rumour has it that no humans actually live there. Only mutants," Vladamir said.

"Right." Eugene said. "Mind giving me the directions to the place?"

Bruiser gave him the directions.

"But you can't go like that!" Killer said. "You look as easy to kill as a fair maiden." Eugene's face contorted into annoyance.

"Hey! I know I don't look that strong but I've got some damn good-"

"You need to be prepared for the dangers Yegrac has to offer. Follow me." Hook Hand said to Eugene, indicating with his hook. Eugene followed him, thankful the thugs were helping him to achieve his quest of finding his love.

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><p><strong>It's not that great because not much action as happened yet. I hope I've emphasised with Eugene and Rapunzel well and portrayed their emotions correctly...<strong>

**Reviews would be awesome! So leave me one. NOW. :) **


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: This is a bit of a filler chapter. Not too pleased with it, but hopefully things will pick up their pace in the next chapter. Also, I only continued this story because people wanted me to but I don't seem to be getting any feedback. I need to know if you still want me to continue this or if I should just stop it. If you have any ideas for future chapters, let me know. **

Chapter 2

Hook hand had given Eugene a small yet sharp dagger to hide in his boot, a thin sword, with a point so sharp that when Eugene pressed it to his skin, beads of blood seeped out. It was to be used to slice away enemies (e.g. apparent mutants). He was also given some healing ointments for any wounds he may get and a map of the surrounding areas, including Yegrac. Though, the map seemed to be quite vague and hardly pinpointed any of the places there.

The thugs bid Eugene good luck, with a horse they had also given him to keep. He had thanked them for their generous gestures however, the horse seemed to be old and its bones seemed to be at a high risk of getting rickets, but it was a horse none the less.

This made Eugene think of Maximus. He was most likely being back on the side of justice with the other guards. Hopefully he would remember Eugene as being a friend of Rapunzel's instead of Flynn Rider.

Eugene followed the directions Bruiser had given him while deep in thought.

* * *

><p>Gothel did not want Rapunzel to see any more of the Outside world.<p>

Using a mixture of crushed herbs her old friend had once given her, she had made Rapunzel fall into a deep sleep, acting very much like an anaesthetic. She tied up her 70 feet long hair with some thin rope making it much shorter than it was before so people would not immediately question why the girl had so much hair. Gothel wanted at least attention as possible.

Now, since Rapunzel was asleep, she obviously couldn't walk. So Gothel had to walk down a little path to a nearby secluded farm and stole a horse and a cart. Attaching them together quickly, she led the less than reluctant horse back to Rapunzel and Gothel loaded her on the cart carelessly and covered her with a blanket. She scattered their other possessions around her and started off, heading for Yegrac.

* * *

><p>"<em>What?<em> Rider's _sold it_?"

"That's what they told me. They gave him the money and there he went, not even bothering to tell us."

"Selfish bastard!"

"That's an understatement, Tobias."

"I know that, Gregory," Tobias growled. He snapped the tree branch he was holding into two. Gregory didn't even flinch. He was too busy making a spear out of another fallen tree branch. It was becoming a hobby of his.

"I can't believe this. After all we've been through Rider decides to go take all the money and glory for his self. I knew we shouldn't have trusted him!" Tobias cursed loudly which made surrounding wildlife scuttle away.

"Why didn't you say something then?" Gregory said, without looking up. His twin brother let out a grunt.

"I thought we'd have our way with him. He's a scrawny titch compared to us; we could knock him out in three seconds flat. But the son-of-a-bitch seems to have more brains than we thought."

"They warned us." Gregory said, referring to their old comrades in the art of stealing. "They had heard about Rider and some even had gone into a partnership with him. It never worked out. He always got the loot."

"I'm gonna _kill _Rider. _Bloody kill him!"_ Tobias roared into the sky. Birds, startled, flew off their place on the thin tree branches and flew off elsewhere. He stomped over to his younger brother, irked with the fact he lacked anger and hatred for their previous partner-in-crime and now arch enemy.

"What the hell are you making spear for anyway?" The half-made spear was snatched out of Gregory's hand and was thrown into the bushes.

"To use on Rider." Gregory replied simply. He had the tendency not to express his feelings with the world so easily, unlike his brother who when he was angry, his rage showed dominantly in his actions.

"Stop playing with wood and _think_."

"Think of what?"

"Think of where Rider might be so I can strangle him with my bare hands."

* * *

><p>Rapunzel's dreams were always wonderful.<p>

She rarely got nightmares. She couldn't even remember any in particular but she always knew she had one as the memory of her bursting into tears in the middle of the night stood out clearly in her recollections.

At that moment, she was dreaming of the most notorious thief in the whole of Corona; Flynn Rider. She was reliving the moment right from when he first entered the tower to when he dropped her outside the entrance to the glen. Actually, her brain had decided to skip that awful parting and straight when Rapunzel and Eugene went to the King and Queen and Rapunzel realised she had found her true parents and then later she and Eugene got married and-

_Bump! Jitter! Bump!_

Rapunzel awoke with a start. An immediate feeling of panic washed over her as she found herself in a dark place with barely any oxygen. She began to panic and frantically moved her arms about and one of them pushed the blanket off of her. She stopped flailing when she realised she had been sleeping on a rickety cart for God knows how long and the sun was beginning to set, causing a warm orange glow over the sky. Her eyes darted around, wondering if she had been kidnapped and then... she remembered.

Gothel was keeping her captive.

Gothel was taking her somewhere else where nobody could find her.

Like Eugene.

"M-mother!" Rapunzel cried, before realising Gothel wasn't her mother at all. But she had grown so accustomed to calling her that that she couldn't stop herself. The cart jerked again and the horse stopped walking. Gothel snapped her neck around immediately. Rapunzel jumped at her sudden movement. She noticed that her hair was an ebony black and there was not a sign of a wrinkle on her face.

She had been using her hair.

Anger swept over Rapunzel. But she was still half asleep.

"Hush, hush, Rapunzel!" Gothel quickly coaxed getting off her horse. "Go back to sleep... I'm taking you to someplace safe, where no one harmful will ever taint your beautiful soul ever again." She had put on a sweet, caring voice, Rapunzel noticed.

"No one... tainted my soul." Rapunzel replied, vexed. Gothel ignored her.

"Sleep my little flower and the journey won't seem as long..." Gothel whispered, bringing out her special mixture of herbs again.

"No... I don't want to... I want Eugene!" Rapunzel said, getting ready to leave the cart. Gothel wasted no more time and flicked the herbs in Rapunzel's face. Her eyelids fluttered closed and she felt back onto the cart with a loud thud.

"Hmmm." Gothel thought to herself. She needed to purchase more herbs as she was running out and she couldn't put up with Rapunzel waking up every so often. With her finding out she was the Lost Princess; Gothel anticipated great difficulty to hide Rapunzel again without her running away. She had to be much more forceful to keep her precious fountain of youth by her side. She needed some stronger concoction to keep Rapunzel asleep for longer.

All would be possible in the most mythical and mysterious town in the country; Yegrac.


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry this took longer than usual! But here ya go, and I hope you guys like it! Reviews spur me on and make me update a little faster so don't hesitate to leave me one. I'm open to constructive criticism! **

Chapter 3

The horse's knees buckled suddenly and Eugene found himself falling off, rather ungracefully, onto the dry, unforgiving ground. Furious, he looked back up at the horse but he saw the anguish painted on the old horse's face. The anger melted away and Eugene let out an empathetic sigh. He got up on his feet and stroked the horse in an effort to be comforting.

"You're in pain, aren't you?" Eugene said sympathetically. "I don't get why the thugs let you come out like this. Were you their only horse?"

No response.

Eugene felt stupid for talking to animal who couldn't even understand English. Then again, Pascal and Maximus seemed perfectly capable. Maybe they were the smarter kind.

The old horse, or Bruce for short, sat down clumsily and brayed painfully.

"You're hungry aren't you?" Still no reply but Eugene took this as a yes. He retrieved two apples from his satchel which he had found on the forest floor. They were heavily bruised but Bruce didn't seem to mind.

Eugene sighed and began to eat for himself. He knew he shouldn't rest for too long as no doubt will Gothel be hurrying to take Rapunzel somewhere secluded and harshly unknown.

Rapunzel.

Her gorgeous blonde locks, those shiny emerald eyes, those cute freckles that adorned her sweet little nose...Eugene hungered to catch a glimpse of her face again. He hungered to stroke and run his hands through the silky, magical hair. He missed her greatly and he hoped she felt the same about him; otherwise, this whole solo expedition of his would be worthless. He would just go up to her and she would turn him away. He tried not to imagine how that would feel.

Eugene felt a tickle against his legs. He looked down to see what was causing the sensation.

"Pascal!" He cried, never before been so happy to see the slimy green chameleon. "What're you doing here? Where's Rapunzel? Is she nearby?"

Much to his despair, Pascal shook his head and turned a miserable blue colour.

"What happened?"

Pascal began to mime out the events that were taken place until this very day. Unfortunately, Eugene was finding it difficult to understand the animal.

"Uh... Rapunzel was...strangled? Oh. No? Erm... Gothel gave her a watermelon? What? Oh right, you didn't mean that... look. This is not gonna work, you're making no sense!" Eugene exclaimed, putting his hands up in defeat. Pascal let out a squeak which was probably his idea of an exasperated sigh. Thus, Eugene began to explain the events that led up to that moment in time and Pascal understood. Speech was more effective than sign language.

"D'you want to come with us?" Eugene asked him. Pascal shrugged, meaning he wouldn't mind either way. Though, Eugene knew he probably did and just did that to make it like he didn't like him. So Eugene scooped him up with his hand and placed him on Bruce's head. Bruce didn't notice.

"C'mon, Brucey! Get up! You've had your rest; it's time to get moving!" Eugene's efforts to make Bruce rides were failing. Pascal chuckled at Eugene's attempts. Eugene glared.

And then a knife flew at Eugene's head.

* * *

><p>"Sleep now Rapunzel, we're almost there..." Gothel whispered gently to her 'daughter.' Rapunzel stirred but went back to sleep.<p>

Gothel hurried into the streets of Yegrac which were quiet and dirty. There was a thin fog in the air and rumour was that it never disappeared. She scuttled towards the apothecary where she was good friends with the owner of the shop who was surviving by simply drinking a youth potion. It wasn't as effective as Rapunzel's hair.

Speaking of Rapunzel...

"Mmmmm... what?" she murmured as she stretched. It seemed like Gothel had managed to make her stay asleep for a prolonged period of time. She looked around frantically. She was on the same cart and was in the middle of an unfamiliar forest.

"Pascal?" she called out for her chameleon. She got no reply. She got off the cart and knew she was alone. Where was Gothel? Where was _she? _Rapunzel hazarded a guess that she and Gothel were in the middle of their journey to their new home. And if this was the case, she was _not_ going.

There was a distinct chill in the air. Rapunzel wrapped her arms around herself to conserve some of her body heat. She walked slowly and cautiously among the tall trees whose summits were too high to see. Her naked feet crunched over the spiky twigs on the ground which made her think that she should've let Eugene buy those shoes for while they were at the capital.

_Eugene._

Rapunzel missed him horribly and she felt a pang of heartbreak when she remembered their awful farewell merely a week ago. She wondered where he was now. Probably on his island, rolling about in his money, she guessed. Well, Flynn was anyway; Eugene seemed to be long gone. Another breeze attacked the uncovered skin of Rapunzel's neck and wrists and she shivered, not liking the feeling.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps.

Eyes wide and alert she looked from left to right in search of the person or animal nearby.

"Eugene?" she called out, without realising. And then, someone grabbed her from the waist and held her strong and she struggled.

"The girl with the magic hair..." he breathed into her ear. Her nose scrunched up distastefully as she smelt their breath. It was _disgusting._

"Let me go!"

"But what if I want to stay young and healthy forever?"

Her heart stopped.

They knew.

She struggled more.

He held harder.

"You're not getting away so easily, darling." Rapunzel shivered again but not because of the cold. She felt her feet grazing along the ground as she was dragged away to who-knows-where.

"EUGENE!"

* * *

><p>"You total <em>bastard!"<em> Eugene roared. A knife was brandished in his hand and his expression was terrifyingly pissed off. His breath were deep and hard and his stance and demeanour gave off the impression that he was about to explode. Gregory Stabbington cowered against the tree, extremely glad his brother was not here to see the state he was in. Being completely chicken and not even fighting back to someone who was shorter and had far less muscle.

"It was meant to hit you on the head!" Gregory said as if that would solve matters.

"That's even_ worse!_ How _dare _you attack your ex-partner in crime? You almost bloody well killed me! And now _look _what you did!" Eugene pointed to the top of his head.

Pascal, who was quite a distance away and had changed to a more appropriate hue of green, chuckled slightly at Eugene's new hair.

The middle of Eugene's head had been cut right off by the blade of the knife. The hair on the sides of his head remained intact but they made his almost-bald-streak-of-stubble look much worse. It was like the opposite of a Mohawk.

It looked completely daft and hilarious but Eugene nor was Gregory seeing the funny side.

"You will _pay_."

"For a new wig?"

"Don't make this a joke! Your end has come very much nearer." Gregory, who finally decided to grasp the last little bit of manhood he had left, straightened up and towered over the changed thief.

"You total git! It's not like you've been a goody-two-shoes; you ran off with the crown and _sold_ it to buy some stupid island! You promised to give me and Tobias some of the share! And now you come back and threaten to murder me. I have you know I could break your neck with a little flick."

"Well, that's life isn't it? Brains beat brawn, every single time."

"Oh? Let's test that theory." Gregory said huskily, walking slowly towards Eugene who took a few steps back. One thing he promised himself when he had struck a deal with the Stabbington brothers was to never get in a fight with them.

Look how that turned out.

Thankfully, Pascal came to the rescue and bit Gregory's foot which stalled him a bit as he cried out in pain. In a few seconds flat, Eugene grabbed his bag, snatched Pascal and jumped onto Bruce. Bruce seemed to know when he was truly needed and ran off as soon as Eugene's backside made contact with his back. They ran off into the woods determined to get away from Gregory and towards Yegrac.


End file.
